


Lava Bubble

by Nellancholy



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game), 明日方舟 | Arknights (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, follows pasupare's perspective, so this is mainly a bandori fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24070594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellancholy/pseuds/Nellancholy
Summary: Pastel Palettes attend the Obsidian Festival,and encounter a plot that threatens to burn the city of Siesta to the ground.Based on Arknights' "Heart of Surging Flame" event.
Kudos: 16





	Lava Bubble

[Main Street, Siesta, 0900 hours]

The bright Siestan sun bore down on Chisato as she adjusted her sun hat, giving Aya and Eve a glance to make sure they had theirs on as well. As much as the tanned look was in, an irregular one would reflect poorly on them. Opening for the main stage of the Obsidian Festival was a step above anything Pastel Palettes had done before, and Chisato wasn’t looking forward to using an entire tube of liquid foundation to cover up pink patches on her bandmates’ skin before their set tonight.

Even in the morning, the streets of Siesta were packed with tourists and local festivalgoers perusing the cafes, shops, and of course bars that were well-prepared for the influx. Chisato made sure to keep a firm grip on both Aya and Eve’s arms.

Somehow, the conversation of the two girls right in front of them caught their ear; one dark-haired and one purple, both with pointed ears on their heads.

_“...seismic readings…”_

_“...burn down the forest…”_

_“...originium…”_

“Ah!” Eve perked up, leaning towards them. “Originium slugs, right? That’s what they’re called! You see, we saw one just now, and Aya-chan almost sat on-” Her enthusiasm was muffled by Aya’s fingers pinching her lips.

“Awawa…” Aya gasped. “What Eve was going to say…is that I gently picked it up and put it in a bush! Even if it was a little hot…”

“Hold on.” The purple-haired girl blinked. “Originium slugs, already in the city? T-that’s worse than we thought! Skyfire, we have to find a way through this crowd…”

“Uh-huh.” Skyfire shrugged, seemingly enjoying her companion’s concern. “Well Provence, maybe if you let me light the pants in front of us on fire…”

“Wait a minute.” Chisato followed Eve’s lead, leaning towards them. “What’s the rush?”

“T-there’s no need for your concern-” Provence began.

“The volcano’s gonna erupt and take out the city. We’re going to inform Doctor because our other communications are down.” Skyfire said, as though she was simply describing the next event on the festival’s itinerary.

“Whaaat?!” Aya gasped. “B-but the whole city, the festival...won’t we need to evacuate?!” Somehow, her exclamation was lost in the din.

Provence frowned, squeezing Aya’s arm. “Keep it quiet for now. Don’t tell a soul until we figure something out. If word gets out, we can’t have literally everyone here acting like…”

“Like you.” Skyfire concluded.

“Understood. Our lips are sealed!” Eve nodded firmly.

“Good. This conversation never happened.” Provence and Skyfire vanished, squeezing their way through the crowd.

“Chisato-chan…” Aya moaned, wrapping both arms around her. “W-what are we gonna do…? We haven’t even gotten to play yet…”

  
Chisato inhaled sharply. “Well, for now…I say we keep doing what we were going to do. Just…stay close to the emergency exits.” Nothing had better ruin what they’d practiced for months.

* * *

[Near Main Stage, Obsidian Festival Grounds, 1030 hours]

Maya stretched as she walked down the side street, Hina keeping pace by her side. Eve’s bokken hung from Maya’s shoulder in a cloth bag, somehow having gotten mixed up in the audio gear she and Hina had spent the morning hours setting up in preparation for their set.

“So, anyway, I think I’ll bring back two pieces of the obsidian for onee-chan, maybe we can polish and set them in pendants together…you think she’d like that? Maya, hey Maya?” Hina waved her hand in Maya’s face.

“Hina…look.” Maya pointed at the entrance of an alley across the street. Two tall figures, swords in hand, crept down the alley, disappearing from sight as they rounded a corner. The insignia on their caps and their black and white uniforms marked them as officers of Siesta’s police force.

“Oh!” Hina’s eyes widened. “You wanna follow them? Sure!” Saying that, she dashed into the alley, perfectly silent on the balls of her feet.

“Hina, wait, I didn’t say-” Even so, Maya fell in behind her, leaning around the corner. There the two officers stood, having cornered…someone in a hood and mask, bearing a logo that resembled a chess rook, and an elegant lady in white.

“ _Doctor, step away from the lady. Miss Ceylon, you’re coming with us._ ” They closed in, swords raised, as their targets backed against the wall, still glancing around for a way, any way out.

Maya moved first. Eve’s bokken slid out of the case with surprising ease, and in two steps she closed in on the officers, swinging down on one’s head with a crack.

A split second later, a brick curved by her head, the wind in its wake whipping up her hair as it flew as easily as a baseball, connecting with the back of the other officer’s skull.

The two of them hit the ground within one second of each other.

“Hina, what the hell-” Maya glared over her shoulder.

“Hey, you needed the help, didn’t you?” Hina smiled.

The lady in white needed a moment to take it all in, while the masked figure quickly tried a nearby door. “Um, thanks for the help. I know what this looks like, but I promise you girls won’t get in trouble. Well, if this works out, anyway. “ The lady turned, pulling a keycard out of her coat. “Doctor, here, this’ll unlock the door…” And with that, both of them vanished into the building.

“Hehe…” Hina chuckled, her hands on her hips. “That was pretty fun!”

Maya frowned. “I-I’m sure, but did you see who that was? They called her Ceylon, which means she’s…”

“...Ceylon, the daughter of the mayor of Siesta. Yes. A notice went out to the entire city about her kidnapping, and…” Chisato’s voice carried over from behind them. “The both of you just happened to…” She ran her eyes over the collapsed police officers before them.

“A-ahaha,huhehe…” Maya rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, desperate for a way to get out. “Oh! Eve, I found your bokken!” She tossed it past Chisato into Eve’s waiting hands.

“Nice! Thanks Maya!” Eve smiled, as though her friend beating someone with her bokken was the most natural thing in the world. “And nice swing, too!”

“G-guys!” Aya squeaked. “There’s no time to worry about this! T-the volcano, i-it’s gonna…e-erupt!”

“Erupt?” Maya’s eyes widened. “No wonder our gear was picking up tremors! Are you sure it’s imminent, Aya?!”

“...I’ll fill you in.” Chisato crouched down, hoisting up one of the officers. “As soon as you help me move these guys into that dumpster over there. They didn’t see you, right? I’m not going to have any of you charged with assaulting a police officer of a sovereign mobile city. The last time I had to bail one of you out and keep it quiet with the talent agency…”

Her grumbling continued for at least ten minutes.

* * *

[1200 hours]

The five members of Pastel Palettes sat around a table at a cafe, nursing their teas and coffees.

In the midst of the festivity, somehow no one important had caught on to anything that they had done so far today. Not the assault of police officers, not the abetting of apparent fugitives.

And the lack of consequence just made the tension worse.

“A-ahem…” Aya straightened up in her seat. “S-so, we know that a volcanic eruption is…im-imminent.”

“According to Provence’s readings, and the tremors I picked up.” Maya nodded.

“And we know that Provence was trying to get that information to the Doctor from Rhodes Island…”

“We saw the logo, yep!” Hina gave a thumbs up.

“Which means the police are going after everyone who has the knowledge of the impending eruption, up to and including the m-mayor’s daughter…” Aya frowned. “W-what are we gonna do…?”

Chisato raised her hand slightly. “We can’t undo what’s been done. I say we pack up, call the agency, and head home.”

“I won’t!” Eve’s face lit up. “The spirit of bushido forbids me to abandon anyone in danger! I believe in Miss Ceylon, and even more than that, I believe Maya! We have to make sure everyone knows to get to safety, and that means we need to find and protect Miss Ceylon!”

“Huhehe…” Maya blushed at Eve’s praise. “…Looks like I’m in.”

“Me too! I might have to go look for that brick I threw, though…” Hina giggled.

“I’ll come too! Aya Maruyama is a true leader!” Aya nodded firmly.

“Well…” Chisato shrugged. “I guess we should move fast. And I was just about to order lunch, too…”

* * *

[Main Stage, Obsidian Festival, 1800 hours]

Beams of dusky light shone through the air as bass reverberated through the sand and the sky. The day’s events had come down to this.  
Cronin, the mayor’s aide, had sought to allow the volcano to erupt, and in the chaos, stage a coup to eliminate Ceylon and her father in order to win the mayor’s seat and secure the right to mine both Siesta’s obsidian and the highly valuable originite that the eruption would leave behind.

When he was exposed, he fled and was cornered on the festival’s main stage, where he revealed his plans to the audience, not even a confession, but a boast. Rhodes Island had gathered their forces to capture him, but the remains of the armed forces loyal to Cronin had rallied around him as well, fully ready and capable of silencing everyone present. Was this really how far he would go for power and wealth?

The final battle played out on a live telecast as Pastel Palettes sat backstage, Aya peeking out through a keyhole. The sound of boots thundered through the corridors, sending a chill through her spine.

Rhodes Island and Ceylon were holding their ground and thinning out Cronin’s army, but if they managed to get in from backstage, Rhodes Island would be surrounded.

“T-they’re coming round this way! W-we gotta warn the Doctor!” Aya gasped.

“But how…? This video feed is one way! If I can just…” Maya began rummaging through their equipment. “O-oh no…I already set up everything on stage! Nothing’s loud enough to…”

“...I’ll make a run for it!” Hina threw the door open and dashed out into the corridor, only to be surrounded by a group of Cronin’s officers. “Aha…ahaha…” She smiled sheepishly.

“ _You’re not supposed to be here!_ ” One of them exclaimed. “ _Hands on your head, now!_ ” The weapon pointed at Hina’s chest was a taser, quite unlikely to be fatal, but…

“No, you’re not supposed to be here!” Hina stuck her tongue out. “You guys are gonna get beaten up! Why would you even go along with a dumb, evil scheme like that anyway?”

The officer’s finger closed on the trigger, and-

The electrified dart bounced off a large metal grate Chisato held up, bracing it against herself like a shield.

Maya,Aya, and Eve formed up behind her. Aya held her mic stand over Chisato’s shoulder, bracing herself in as close to a phalanx formation as she could get. Maya held Chisato’s bass tight, raising it like an axe. Hina tossed one of Maya’s effects pedals back and forth in her hands as Eve held out her bokken.

Chisato grit her teeth. This was one hell of a day, and now they were about to fight. Like _fight_ fight, for real. She had to smile. It was almost like acting in a movie again.

Aya narrowed her eyes, a determined look flashing onto her face. “Chisato-chan…everyone…I-if we can’t warn them…”

Chisato nodded.

“ _Then we hold this damn line._ ”

* * *

[Live House Circle, Tokyo, 1600 hours; 3 days after Obsidian Festival]

Chisato grunted as she leaned back into the sofa of the live house’s lobby. Her body still hurt all over.

Rhodes Island had put a stop to Cronin’s scheme. The induced eruption of Siesta’s volcano was averted, and the Obsidian Festival went on, hotter than any year before.  


Mayor Herman and his daughter had publicly commended Pastel Palettes for helping to prevent the hostile takeover of their city, and more importantly, reimbursed the agency for all the equipment damaged in the battle. (Maya and Chisato managed to pass off most of the damage as being accidental.) Still, Chisato expected work to dry up for them for a while. _Maybe forever_ , a voice whispered in her head. Fighting in public wasn’t very idol-like, no matter how heroic it was.

Still, she wasn’t about to stop playing together with them, with their bond stronger than ever.

“Huhehe…I think it’ll look pretty good on my university application, though.” Maya chuckled.

“Which part?” Chisato raised an eyebrow. “The ‘caved in someone’s head with MY bass’ part or the ‘saved a city’ part?”

“Ah…what a beautiful sight it must have been.” Kaoru swooned, leaning on Chisato’s shoulder. “My gorgeous princess, my lovely kitten, a steadfast shield for her comrades, fighting against vile, underhanded knaves…truly a fleeting beauty.”

Hina, on the other hand, was still trapped firmly in Sayo’s embrace.

“Hina…I’m so thankful you’re alright.” An uncharacteristic tear rolled down Sayo’s cheek. “Promise me you won’t do anything dangerous like that ever again. M-maybe I should follow you on all your tours…”

That thought was promptly interrupted by Yukina, Sayo’s bandmate, resting her hand firmly on Sayo’s shoulder. “ _No._ No you shouldn’t.”

“Ehe…” Hina reached up, stroking Sayo’s hair. “I did get us these pendants, though…”

Chisato closed her eyes, feeling the bruises and sprains cool to a dull, all-encompassing ache as Kaoru rested on her shoulder.

It would be a long, long time before anyone could persuade her to go on vacation again.  



End file.
